Swype review

Find out why the ingenious Swype is the best time-saving app you'll install this year

For

Easy to use

Good word recognition

Excellent time-saver

Integration with other apps

One of the benefits of Android over iOS is that Google is quite happy to let you rip bits out of it and replace them with your own, if you choose. Swype does this for the built-in keyboard, and it takes roughly 0.4 picoseconds for you to start wondering how you ever lived without it.

You can still tap out words a letter at a time, so you're not losing out on any features. What you gain is the ability to form words by simply dragging your finger between the letters, with Swype instantly working out what you mean. It works amazingly – magically for words in its dictionary.

There's no need for pixel-perfect precision, as is often the case when tapping at individual keys, or worrying about details like whether you should leave your finger hovering over a letter for longer in words like 'bubble'. Most of the time, Swype will work it out without a fuss.

If it's not sure, it pops up a menu with the most likely contenders – 'time' for instance might also be 'tinge' – which is still no slower than having typed it. The increase in input speed is incredible, making it a breeze to write emails, shoot off a quick tweet or respond to an SMS.

Best of all, this keyboard appears in absolutely every app you use, slotting in where the now officially rubbish Android default used to be. No software updates. No incompatibilities.

If you're using Android, install this now. You need it. You'll never look back. It's not on the Market yet, so visit www.swypeinc.com to sign up for the beta and download it to your phone immediately.